The Blackhawks have the national narrative trending in a different direction

It’s a snowy Monday in Chicago, but spirits are high. The Bears pulled out another late win on Sunday. The Bulls are off to an unexpected hot start. And, most importantly, when you look at the National Hockey League standings, the Blackhawks are in third place in the Central Division! Since it’s Monday, it’s time to look at what is trending up and what is trending down with the Blackhawks.

The Week That Was

Monday: 3-6 @ Seattle Kraken
Wednesday: 5-2 @ Vancouver Canucks
Friday: 4-0 @ Calgary Flames
Sunday: 5-1 @ Detroit Red Wings

The Week Ahead

Wednesday: vs New Jersey Devils
Saturday: vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Trending Up: Special Teams, Matt Grzelcyk, National Narrative

• The Blackhawks won the final three games of their six-game road trip because their special teams stepped up. The power play started scoring goals, while the penalty kill did its job. During the current three-game winning streak, the power play has scored five goals and seven chances, while the penalty kill went a perfect 10 for 10. Early in the season, head coach Jeff Blashill said it took the Tampa Bay Lightning about a month to fully grasp his penalty-kill system after he installed it. We are a month into the season, and killing off 11 straight penalties is all the proof you need that the system has taken. The Blackhawks have the 7th-ranked power play in the NHL, and their penalty kill now sits 8th. They are having success in all three phases of the game, so why can’t they push for a postseason spot this year?

• When Matt Grzelcyk was signed to a professional tryout contract (PTO) ahead of training camp, most Blackhawks fans shrugged their shoulders. When he made the opening night roster, there was some worry that he’d take away playing time from a young defender. Instead, he’s been a nice fit within Blashill’s seven-defensemen rotation. He’s played solid in both zones, and his dependability has allowed Blashill to keep putting his inexperienced blueliners in positions to succeed. The Seattle game was the only time all season that he’s been on the ice for more goals against than scored. He’s been on the ice for 17 5-on-5 goals scored and only six against, with three of those coming in the first two games of the season. His 53.48 Corsi for percentage (CF%) is the highest on the team among the regular players. Sam Lafferty has a higher CF%, but he’s only played in four games.

• Connor Bedard is leading the NHL in points. Spencer Knight has been one of the best goaltenders to start the season. Tyler Bertuzzi and Andre Burakovsky are making Kyle Davidson look like a genius. Artyom Levshunov is tied for the assist lead among all rookies. Blashill has the Blackhawks playing tenacious, competitive hockey and has them sitting in a playoff spot. These are just a few of the many factors that contribute to the changing national narrative surrounding this team. It started with the 8-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on TNT, and he’s continued to evolve. They are no longer in think pieces about the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. Instead, they are being talked about as one of the most surprising teams and how they are emerging as a future powerhouse. Heck, even The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe took them out of his bottom five for the first time in three years!

Trending Down: Wyatt Kaiser, Ryan Greene, Home Attendance

• Let me preface this by saying that Wyatt Kaiser has been the Blackhawks' best defenseman over the course of the first 16 games. However, when you set such a high standard of play, you run the risk of winding up in the “Trending Down” section when you do meet said standard. Kaiser didn’t play badly this week, just not as good as we’ve been used to seeing. For the first time this season, he’s gone three straight games with a CF% under 50. During the win streak, he has a 34.29, 25.00, and 39.29 CF%. This was coming off a stretch of four straight games with a CF% over 53. Kaiser spends a ton of time in the defensive zone, but he felt like he was fighting it a bit at the tail end of the road trip. Nine of his 20 giveaways on the season have come in the last four games. I am not worried about Kaiser going forward, but it would be nice to see him bounce back this week and return to the high standard of play we expect from him.

• Ryan Greene has had a crazy start to his first full professional season. He was set to start the season with the Rockford IceHogs, but was added to the opening night roster when Landon Slaggert wasn’t healthy enough to start the season. He’d played well enough to stay in Chicago and even spent a handful of games on the top line with Bedard and Burakovsky. He’s currently in a dip and was taken off that line. Some of that move had to do with his play, while Bertuzzi’s play was a big factor, too. In the last three games, the Blackhawks have been outshot 33-12 with Greene on the ice. He only has one shot on goal in that span. After getting off to a good start at the faceoff dot, he has a 31.1 winning percentage over his last five games (14-for-45).

• The Blackhawks have only had six home games to start the season, but will play eight of the next nine games at the United Center. Hopefully, this will give them the chance to stack some wins but also raise the attendance numbers. They averaged 16,806 fans for the first six games. Their 85.2% capacity is the second lowest in the league, only behind the Utah Mammoth. This represents a significant drop-off from last season, when the Blackhawks averaged 19,130 fans per game at 97.02% capacity. They’ve had some bad luck with the schedule, including a later 7:45 pm start on a weeknight to go along with competing against two Bears games and a Cubs playoff game. With the team playing much better and a slew of games coming up, those attendance numbers should go up. Saturday’s 6 pm start against the Maple Leafs could be the first sellout of the season.